THE Hippodrome in Deansgate, Bolton, played a large role in people's lives, judging by the wonderful feedback we received after publishing a picture of a 1961 'kitten heel' protest against its closure.

Memories came flooding back for a number of our readers, who remembered regularly visiting the theatre in Deansgate.

Linda Morris, aged 68, who lives in Heaton, said: "My grandmother Alice Whitehead is on the picture.

"She and my grandad used to take me to the Hippodrome every Thursday when I was 11 or 12. It was seeing the photograph in the paper that made me think about it.

"I remember I used to look forward to it, really enjoy it — there was a play on every week. My grandparents were always going.

"There was television, but not like there is now and it used to be busy."

Although Mrs Morris doesn't remember the plays she watched, she does have two very vivid memories.

She said: "I always remember the smell. It was only a small theatre and there was a smell of greasepaint.

"I remember seeing a play with Jane Downes, the actress who went on to play Audrey in Emergency Ward 10."

Mrs Morris said: "I showed my children the picture and told them that she was their great-grandmother!"

Live entertainment was hugely popular with people visiting the Hippodrome in Deansgate or other theatres, of which Bolton had many.

The Hippodrome Theatre opened in 1908 as The Empire Theatre, opening opposite the Post Office. It went on to become the home of the Bolton Repertory Theatre and productions continued until 1961, when the theatre closed, sparking protests.

An article in the Bolton Evening News on September 5, 1961, read: "The auctioning of the effects at Bolton Hippodrome was another nail in the coffin of the town's last 'live' theatre.

"So Bolton will follow the national trend of provincial towns being left without a theatre, and it will be up to the Corporation to decide whether it should fill the gap left in the cultural and social life of the town by establishing a civic theatre."

Other theatres included The Temple Opera house in Dawes Street, which opened in 1877 and The Theatre Royal in Churchgate, the first incarnation of which opened in 1853, before a second theatre opened on the site in 1888 following a fire.

A third theatre was built in 1928 to replace the former building.

The Bew Grand Circus of Varieties Theatre was built at Churchgate and opened in 1894. It converted into a Continental Theatre before becoming a bingo hall, and the site was demolished in 1963. The offices which The Bolton Evening News used from 1987 until 2012 were built upon the site.

Today Bolton has a thriving amateur dramatics scene and The Octagon, which was opened in 1967 by the late Princess Margaret, ensures the legacy of theatre-going in Bolton continues to live on.